Wichita eagle., 1887-06-22
FOOLS VS.. TRAITORS.

FOOLS VS.. TRAITORS.
The sooner Wichita is spanked to sleep by
the rest of the state the better, and the
sooner its EAGLES tail feathers are plucked
by the better element of its own people, the
more credit will accrue to Wichita and to
the state 1t is mystery to the writer how
man of as fair makeup as Marsh Murdoch
could so far forget his obligations as a citi-
zen and his duty as a man, as to encourage
continued, palpable and hagrant
violations of the laws of his state. II he or
any other citizen of Wichita proposes or pre-
sumes to disregard the law, because it does
not suit their opinions, they become a dan
gerous element, and the full power Of the
commonwealth should he exercised for their
suppression. Kansas, by an overwhelming
vote, has declared for prohibition. The leg
islature In its wisdom has enacted laws 10
carry out this declaration. Every loyal cit
izen of this state, whether he is a prohibition
ist or not, should favor the equal enforce
ment of these laws, and he who does not is q
traitor to the state and a menace to It's IN
stitutions.-W Winfield Courier.
King Solomon, on the spur of the moment,
remarked, that the thing to do was to IAN
swer fool according to his folly" but be-
fore the mailer passed from his mind he
added that there was more hope for fool
than for the conceited chump who knows
more than seven men who can render rea-
son. Solomon was an expert when it came to
anything that class who, in the nineteenth
century, seems to have very unanimously
taken to newspaper business. He CHM
mered down to the final conclusion. how
ever, that ''every fool will be meddling
when by holding his peace he might be
counted wise"
If the handful of corporation jobbers,
boo oilers and small politicians who spent
the last winter at Topeka are greater than
the state of Kansas; if two or three hun
dred individuals who happen to live in
Wichita are more potent than her thirty
tn ousand other people; if the Declaration
of Independence was only buncombe; If
the principle which underlies the constitu
tion of the United States, that the majority
hould govern, is mistake; if cranky
Legislature has the legal power to deny the
right of petition and the consequent right
of the people to protest; if, in fact, 1.-The
voice of the people is not 1.-THE voice Of
God" then are the people Of Wichita
wrong in their empbetic protest
against legislative enactment
which ignores every principle here
enumerated This bastard law, this pre-
tended moral enactment, not only ignores
the majority but fixes and states definite
number of the minority who shall have
their rule and will as against any majority
however great If that legislature had
either the legal or moral right to say that
three hundred people should have the
power to wrest the government of Wichita
from its elected authorities they had the
same right to clothe any three or any two
people who might happen to live here
with that same power. Under this pre-
tended principle the very genius of Ameri
can government falls. If the petition of
three or three hundred is to be recognized
Is against the protest of thousands then
why not against hundreds of thousands.
If congress should adopt the same pre-
tended principle, and under the, guise of
good intent and the better moral welfare
OF the people, should enact law empow-
cring three persons or three hundred, or
three thousand, or three hundred thousand,
through Grover Cleveland and his cabinet
TO take the power of executing the laws
from the hands of the constituted authori-
ties of the state of Kansas who were duly
elected by the majority of her people, how
Ion g would it be before the state would be
in open rebellion or be otherwise deserted
by its people? Under such principle of
law the editor of the Courier could be hung
on the petition Of three or even one person
and his office confscated While we don't
know as that would be much of a mis-
fortune its the principle, or the want of
principle about which we are protesting,
All of the COurier's rot about flair Muir
dock" and prohibition" and the enforce
ment of law" is unworthy Of notice The
editor of the Eagle never knowingly vio-
lated law, was never arrested in his life,
nor charged with any misdemeanor As
for the enforcement Of the prohibition law,
but for the fact that the Eagle stood
squa rely by the law and by its officers, the
saloo Ms in Wichita would have remained
open, in all probability, as long as they did
at Atchison or Leavenworth.